's the first thing you see when you walk into bob's house, the yellow jersey signed by the manhimself,lancearmstrong.>> it's a constant reminder of how it all began. >> reporter: in 2001, he fought testicular cancer for the second time. overwhelmed by 26 rounds of chemotherapy. >> it was the tumor the size of a big cantaloupe. and a cucumber up his neck. >> it made him fight for his life. and he won. >> reporter: the couple met armstrong several times, after raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for his organization. but with his admission of doping today, they're conflicted. >> they treated people, maybe not the right way over time. but you can't take away what he's done with his name and helped the millions of people who have been diagnosed with cancer. >> shame on lance. but in the same breath, congratulations to him for, you know, his fight with cancer. and it's thanks to that we are where we are now. >> reporter: and it's something else that turned him into an everyday symbol of appreciation. when hammer met him in 2001, he was 48 hours away from having surgery that would prevent